Finance
February 2026
Personal matters have affected the work of our Treasurer this month, however the day-to-day transactions have continued to be processed by our Secretary, Carol Morse.
February is the month when the majority of our annual membership renewals come in. We do ask people to pay promptly so we can plan accordingly for the remainder of the year.
We also urge anyone who makes a donation and, who is a taxpayer, even if the only tax they pay has been deducted from their salary before they see their net pay, to please ensure it is gift aided. It doesn‘t cost you anything but for every £1.00 we receive from you the government will top it up by 25p.
Countrywide, shows are affiliating to the Society, at which our members can earn a place at a national final to be held in August. Show affiliations earn the Society a small income, which in turn is used to provide rosettes to those placed at such events.
A Finance meeting was held earlier this month with budgets for 2026 approved and passed to Council for approval. The Society has always budgeted conservatively, which at present means we are budgeting for a deficit, but one that is entirely sustainable. In the past we have been fortunate to come in with smaller deficits or turn them into surpluses.
One area where costs are increasing is that of digital products. The aim of digitalisation is to save time, however when labour is effectively no cost as it is donated for free or comes at a minimal charge, it means that small charities have no choice but to increase their costs to purchase appropriate software for bookkeeping and passport production given the requirements of the authorities to which they report.
January 2026
Our Finance Chairman, Neil Glover, will be standing down in November this year and we would like to bring in a fresh face to work with our new Council Chairman to take the Society forward. Neil has been on the Finance Committee for many years and been Chairman for more years than he likes to remember.
Any new incumbent would be supported by our Treasurer, Barbara Whale, a practising Chartered Accountant, and a number of other people who sit on the committee.
If you have any experience in this field and would be prepared to assist us then please contact our Society Secretary, Carol Morse, who will be pleased to talk to you.
December 2025
Welcome to the first finance page on our website. We can’t promise to keep a monthly blog going as some months nothing noteworthy happens with our finances.
Our financial year ends on 31 December, and we will, during January, be collating the information from the regions and committees for the year which are all organised by volunteers.
We are not in existence to rehome or even look after donkeys but to preserve and improve the standard of donkeys through education of owners and others. To this end the Society undertakes many activities and provides several publications each year with its aims in mind.
The larger picture 
on the magazine is from 2022, our second year of attending Your Horse and we have just completed our 5th year, so over 100,000 visitors so far have able to benefit from the experience of our volunteers who have manned the stand, along with several of our long-eared friends.
To provide these services costs money, even when volunteers give their time for free.
So, we are very grateful to all those who make donations to the Society, even though they may not wish to be a member with the additional benefits that brings.
The Code of Fundraising Practice was updated in November 2025 and whilst we have not registered with the Fundraising Regulator, we are committed to fundraising in a way that is legal, open, honest and respectful in line with the code.
